Granny in the Sixties Wants to Build Airplanes

[The full text has been revised, with bugs and some controversial plot points fixed. The study-abroad arc has been completely rewritten. I’m not responsible for the old version on pirate sites, so please read the official version. The story is complete.] Liao Village has a legendary figure. Ninety years ago, she was the first girl in the village to get into college. She was also sent abroad to study on a government scholarship, and after returning to China, she went straight to work on developing fighter jets. Liao Shan grew up hearing stories about her legendary great-grandaunt and worked hard to follow in her footsteps. Things just veered a little off course: she went into automobile manufacturing instead. Liao Shan mentioned her great-grandaunt while having a few drinks with her best friend, but all she did was gossip a little about her love life. When Liao Shan woke up, she opened her eyes to a thatched hut with bare walls, a starving fifteen-year-old body, and the prospect of dropping out of school and being married off in an exchange marriage to avert a family disaster. Even worse, it seemed she had become that legendary great-grandaunt... Building planes and all that... She really couldn’t do it! One late night in 1963, at the aircraft factory, Liao Shan was redrawing the fighter jet blueprints. Beside her, a tall, slender, refined-looking man said calmly, “The revised wing has a quarter-chord sweep angle of 55 degrees and an aspect ratio of 3.24.” On the other side, a man whose short-sleeved military uniform showed off his handsome muscles refused to be outdone. “Engineer Liao, can the engine be improved any further?” Liao Shan held her temper. One was her boss, and the other was her client. Just then, the director, who was always eager to help people sort out the big things in their lives, rushed over. “Engineer Liao, I found you the ideal husband you asked for: a good man who can do housework and cook!” In an instant, two pairs of blazing eyes turned toward Liao Shan. Liao Shan had a headache. Why had she gone and gossiped about her great-grandaunt’s love life in the first place?! [Content warnings] 1. Some readers may think there’s too much romance, while others may think there’s too much career-focused content. Personally, I think the story is mainly about the heroine’s growth. The male lead isn’t just a background character, and the marriage happens much later. It’s more of an ensemble story. 2. There will only be one child, and the male lead has had a vasectomy. 3. There will be some fictional details and changes, so please treat this as an alternate setting. 4. I’m not a professional. If you spot any bugs, please be gentle. Thank you. 5. The story follows the heroine’s growth, so she isn’t very strong at first. Please don’t reduce it to “the heroine is strong, but the male lead is even stronger.” She’ll grow into her strength. They’re both strong leads. 6. The male lead won’t steal the heroine’s spotlight. Everyone gets to shine in their own way. 7. I didn’t really want to spoil anything, but I don’t want my words taken out of context, so let me explain. The male lead only ended up coordinating the project team through a twist of fate. After an accident left the team short on experienced staff, each group leader had their own specialty, while he was comparatively well-rounded. He also had a year more experience than the others working on the previous generation’s Red Star fighter, so he was pushed into taking charge. The heroine, meanwhile, is the youngest of all the group leaders, and this is her first official project in aircraft development, so she isn’t in a position to lead. This is a story about growth, not a Mary Sue fantasy. Just because Liao Shan can’t do something in her early twenties doesn’t mean she can’t do it in her thirties or forties. She climbs to the top step by step, from group leader to deputy chief engineer and then to institute director. (This is set in the 1960s. The heroine gets a seat at the table first. If you want a story that focuses entirely on a female lead, feel free to look for another one. Thank you.) 8. If the food doesn’t taste good, you can blame me, the cook, but please don’t blame the characters or call me a boy mom or the heroine’s mother-in-law. I really will get hopping mad. Shan’er is my favorite. 9. If you don’t like this story, you can leave and browse for another one, but please don’t attack anyone. I’ll delete comments with profanity or insults. Peace and love. *My other story about a hardworking heroine in the 1980s, The Thirteen Tradeswoman of the Eighties, is complete. Come give it a try~ Theme: Challenging the impossible